1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices adapted to receive and carry wheeled carts along the sand on a beach. More particularly, the present invention relates to portable devices specifically designed to support baby strollers upon sand or other loose earth.
2. Prior Art Statement
When people travel to the beach, a lake, or other recreational location, they often take a large number of accessories intended to make the visit more pleasurable. For example, when people visit the beach, they often take folding chairs, umbrellas, coolers, buckets, shovels, blankets, fishing poles and bags filled with smaller items such as sunscreen and a change of clothing. In many instances, a person visiting the beach is unable to drive his/her vehicle directly onto the beach. Similarly, many people visiting the beach stay at hotels or homes that are not directly on the beach. As a consequence, people traveling to the beach are required to physically carry to the beach all the accessories they require. Often the number of accessories is too great for a single trip, so a person must make multiple trips to and from the beach in order to transport all the needed accessories. This problem is compounded for people who have small children. Small children require many extra accessories such as playpens, toys, diaper bags and swimming safety gear, all of which must also be carried to and from the beach. Furthermore, small children cannot be left on a beach unattended. Consequently, an adult working alone must carry the child with them each time they walk on and off the beach.
Transporting a small child back and forth would be greatly simplified if a baby stroller could be used. A baby stroller would hold the child and much of the equipment needed for the child. The only problem is that strollers do not roll on sand, mud, or loose gravel. Most baby strollers are designed with small narrow wheels. This enables the stroller to roll rapidly and turn quickly on hard, smooth surfaces. However, when a traditional stroller is pushed onto a beach or onto loose gravel, the narrow wheels quickly sink into the ground. The stroller must then be either carried or pulled through the sand as the wheels plow troughs along the beach.
In the prior art, there have been many devices developed over the years that are specifically intended to alleviate the burden of carrying a large number of accessories to and from the beach. One prior art approach has been to provide a wheeled vehicle, like a wheelbarrow, that can be loaded with gear and pushed or pulled to the beach. Such prior art devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,993 to Mazzarelli et al., entitled Beach Tote Cart and U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,079 to Graham, entitled Beach Caddy. Some of the problems associated with such prior art devices are that such devices are expensive, bulky and labor intensive to manufacture. Often people traveling to the beach or another recreational location have packed their vehicles to capacity and have no extra room for a large bulky wheeled cart.
A second problem associated with such beach carts is they are designed to hold bulk items. The beach carts themselves are not designed to hold small children safely. Consequently, using a beach cart does not eliminate the need to use a stroller.
A need therefore exists for a device that can be attached to a traditional stroller so that the stroller can be readily pulled across sand or loose gravel. In this manner, a baby and much of the baby's gear can be taken to the beach using the stroller, thereby greatly reducing the difficulty of taking a small child to the beach. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.